Buffalo Forum alongside youth and community activists from Buffalo stood together with tens of thousands of Canadians to denounce the anti-people agendas of the G8/20 in Toronto and stand up for the rights of the peoples. Actions took place from June 21-28 and those against criminalization of dissent are continuing across Canada (see cpcml.ca for more).

Buffalo stood proud during a week of protests, representing the fighting stand of Americans to join with Canadians and all the world’s peoples to say No to the Anti-People Agendas of the G8/20! No to Criminalization of Dissent! One Humanity, One Struggle! By organizing to participate in these actions we took up the duty of Americans to stand against the wars, aggression and militarization of the U.S. and represent the drive of the people for their rights, including their right to govern and decide. Our banners flew high, Defend the Rights of All, No to U.S. Imperialism and U.S. War Crimes, Fight for the Fraternal Unity of the Peoples! Directly participating and being part of the various actions gave expression to this fraternal unity, which develops on the basis of organizing inside the U.S. for the change the people require and standing together with all those worldwide doing the same.

Just after sunrise on Tuesday, June 22nd a group of ten activists gathered outside of the Lafeyette Ave. Presbyterian Church. This group of Buffalo organizers was on their way to participate in one of the largest gatherings of left-wing organizers in the United States. They were going to participate in the US Social Forum. The organizations that participated in the delegation included the Coalition for Economic Justice, People United for Sustainable Housing, the WNY Council on Occupational Safety and Health, Buffalo Class Action, Buffalo Tenants United, and Buffalo Indymedia. Traveling with these delegates was a group of another 20 activists from the Vermont Worker Center.

After a six hour drive, the activists arrived in Detroit just in time to participate in the Opening Celebration for the Forum. Over 5,000 people, with many thousands more still arriving, marched through Detroit announcing their presence and the beginning of this national gathering of social justice organizers. A bloc of indigenous activists led the march which included labor organizers, environmental justice groups, community organizations, tenants and homeless movements, and left wing ideological groups. In the end, over 15,000 activists would take part in the week’s events. The US Social Forum had begun, and for many people in the United States, this would be the first day they heard of the convergence.

What Is the US Social Forum?

The US Social Forum is a gathering place for social justice organizers throughout the country. It’s a space for activists from a wide variety of people’s movements to share and learn from each other’s experiences. It’s a space to build unity and debate new questions. But, most importantly to many at this year’s Forum, it’s a place to build and strengthen movements. The Forum stands in contrast to meetings like the Group of 20, held this weekend in Toronto. At the G20 meeting, sweeping economic decisions are made that will affect the lives of millions of people. However, this meeting will not include those peoples’ voices. The Social Forum on the other hand represent a space of grassroots discussion and decision making, where every day people organize to have a say in the decisions that have such profound impacts on their lives. At hundreds of workshops, presentations, panel discussions, and rallies people from throughout the US build an agenda that adequately addresses the needs of everyday people. This is the US Social. Surrounding these workshops and discussions is a nearly constant cultural display of poetry, music, visual art, and spectacular parties.

http://2010.mediacoop.ca/ - G20 live updates protest news aggregator

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These efforts are sorely needed and much appreciated, as toronto.idymedia.org Doesn't Exist.

Last weekend hundreds of activists came to Toronto to build the ‘movement of movements’. Behind those hundreds, thousands are coming this week to resist the G8/G20 meeting in Huntsville & Toronto, respectively. With dozens of workshops and events this weekend the purpose of the conference is to share skills, information, and tactics for the week ahead.

Why are we resisting the G20? The neoliberal policies of the G20 have caused the economic collapse and broken its promises of international human development. The policies made by the G20 have furthered a globalization of markets that subverts meaningful democracy. The G20 includes the G8; this club of wealthy nations that addresses AIDS prevention, human rights, humanitarian aid, and other humanitarian issues. Buffalo and other industrial centers are specifically violated by their policies that have moved secure jobs to places that arbitrarily ignore human and labor rights.

When I arrived in Toronto, a cloud of discontent hung in the air. A girl with red-hair and a sunflower therein in a green dress said abruptly, “we hate the G20, they are fencing up all of downtown”. The militarization of Toronto by the 'Integrated Security Unit' is designed to stop violence at the demonstrations or prevent terrorism. The current neoliberal form of globalization has intensified poverty amongst the poor of the world and inspired resistance to those policies in the form of public protest. In the wake of 911 and after the explosion of protest against the WTO, NAFTA, GATS, G8, and the IMF, the resistance to those policies were associated (discretely or openly) as against the public, incoherent 'anarchism', or aid to terrorists. Protest is a valued cornerstone of our human & civil rights as a democratic activity! Why are they associating it with terrorism?

One theory is that the Global War on Terror has cast a ‘state of exception’ over the world. In liberal democracies throughout the Global North anti-terrorism laws have criminalized forms of dissent that make meaningful democracy possible. In the industrializing Global South (i.e. the B.R.I.C. group) human rights abuses are infamous and democratic governments are increasingly or authentically autocratic. In “Multitude”, Antonio Negri & Michael Hardt articulate the idea of the ‘state of exception’ in these terms as theory; however, the security enclosure around the Toronto Metropolitan Convention center and the $1.2 billion for sound cannons, tear gas, and riot gear and vehicles, amidst stronger monitoring by police verifies this exceptional state as the norm.

To distance the movement from normal people and to scare U.S. activists on the other side of the border, the U.S. state department has issued a travel advisory statement: “U.S. citizens should avoid traveling in or through downtown Toronto during the Summit, if possible”. Before that, the RCMP alleged that the heightened security measures were designed to prevent terrorism, which for some activists made the border increasingly difficult to traverse.

On a tour of the alternative areas of Toronto, my host expressed disenchantment with the demonstrations acting as a foci for the larger movement. Veterans of the Global Justice struggle have expressed such feelings. He was enthusiastic about his neighborhood reclaiming a vacant lot across from their apartment and turning it into a community garden and space. The politics of opposition amongst the left is an obstacle for the Global Justice movement, but the singularities in the movement are pursuing more proactive projects instead of simply opposing the varied institutions of neoliberalism.

The sessions at the 2010 Peoples Summit echoed this concern featured proactive subjects and skill-shares designed to focus our skills for the week of action ahead and harness the expertise of the participating activists. For example, a seminar led by Make Poverty History, an NGO, focused on the UN Millennium Development Goals and their implementation. They emphasized how activists could aid them in their long-term campaign to realize these goals. Amongst activists at the Peoples Summit, the aim of Make Poverty History fits into a larger framework to eradicate extreme poverty and improve the general quality of life worldwide.

Last Thursday, activists from throughout the city gathered at Campieri’s Pizza for a party. Organized by the Coalition for Economic Justice and Buffalo CarShare, the purpose of the party was to raise funds for a trip that local organizers will be taking to Detroit to attend and participate in the US Social Forum.

The US Social Forum is part of an international movement of Social Forum’s that began with the World Social Forum in January of 2001. The Social Forums are spaces provided for many of the different social justice movements in an area to gather and discuss their efforts, learn from one another’s experiences, and build broader, more coherent movements.

After years of protesting outside of the World Economic Forum’s meetings for the exploitative and destructive economic policies that came out of these meetings, activists from throughout the world began discussing the need to create alternatives rather than simply protest the current options. Under the banner of “Another World is Possible”, the World Social Forums began organizing. Shortly after, people locally began organizing regional, national, and even local city social forums with the purpose of building unity and strengthening the efforts of local social justice organizations and movements.

After 15 months of working without a contract, Red Cross workers throughout the nation called for a 3-day strike in an effort to stop unfair negotiating tactics by the national Red Cross. One hundred Western New York members were among those on strike in six different states.

On June 4th, the members of Communication Workers of America local 1122 held a rally for supporters and workers to spread their message to the Red Cross and local media. They made it clear that they don’t want to risk the area blood supply, and for that reason they did not go on an indefinite strike. They do however need to send a message to their employers.

“These are tough economic times. You bet they are, for the working men and women of this community. When you make $2 billion in revenue it’s not tough for the Red Cross,” said CWA Local 1122 President James Wagner.

Being presented in the consolidation plan put forward by the Red Cross is a provision that includes eliminating 60 Buffalo-based telecommunication jobs. This is a provision that is actively opposed by the union local.

The rally was attended by supporters from many community organizations, other unions, and other CWA members that work for Verizon. While these workers have gone back to work, it’s incredibly important that we all keep our eyes on this negotiation process and see that it moves forward in a way that benefits working people. If the workers don’t get broad public support, we can only expect more stalling and cut backs from the Red Cross.

On Thursday, June 3rd the Western New York Area Labor Federation and the Working Families Party came together to discuss and critique the Tea Party. A room of nearly 100 labor leaders and active union members heard from a number of speakers dealing with the history of what makes up the Tea Party and what the labor movement should be doing to provide an alternative to the Tea Party brand of populism.

Presenters included Alex Blair, history professor at Buffalo State College, Richard Lipsitz, of the Western Area Labor Federation, Frank Messiah, president of the Buffalo NAACP, Donna Chapman, Secretary of the Working Family Party, and Tom Michael of the Colgate University of Department of Economics.

The presentation began with an overview of the economic policies promoted by the Tea Party and the connections of the Tea Party to conservative activists like Dick Army and his Freedom Works foundation. Prof. Michael gave a brief description of neoliberal capitalism, or as he later called it, “the Market as the master”. It’s this ideology of total freedom for businesses to do as they like with zero government regulation or protection of the common good that is inherent to the arguments of the Tea Party. Michael argued that fixing the crisis is a much larger task than some simple reform legislation. He argued that the political-ideological framework needs to be changed. This includes a commitment to full employment, strong regulation of financial institutions, and bringing wages back in line with productivity. “We need to make banking boring again,” he argued.

On Wednesday, May 19th Buffalo Class Action held a workshop to discuss the history, modern uses, and ideology behind the concept of Direct Action. A group of about 30 students, activists, and community members attended the conversation at the Grant Street Neighborhood Center and the responses to the dialogue were overwhelmingly positive.

The purpose of the discussion was to break down misunderstanding and misinformation about the ideas of direct action and what they mean to building popular movements that can fight for genuine change in our society. There were two types of actions that are often labeled direct actions that were discarded by the presenter as valid direct actions – rioting at militant protests and confrontational protests to those in power.

As it was presented, Direct Action is a concept that goes beyond the idea of militancy in protesting for needed changes in society. Instead, it’s an idea for a completely different way of fighting for social justice through our activism. Direct Action teaches us to bring our attention to the on-the-ground effects of policy rather than arguing in the abstract world of policy-making, where politicians and businessmen have considerably more power than the average citizen.

Today, over 30 local activists engaged in a demonstration in front of Senator Schumer's office on S. Elmwood street against Israel's recent assault and seizure of an the Free Gaza Movement's aid ship, the Mavi Marmara. Along with the seizure and the aid while imprisoning & wounding some of the 600 Free Gaza activists and killing 19 activists.

The flotilla was the ninth attempt by the Free Gaza movement to get aid into Gaza in response to Israel's air, sea, and land blockade. A blockade that was enacted at the advent of the siege of Gaza in January 2009. In an initial press release from the Free Gaza movement, the floatilla had 10,000 tons of aid ready for delivery and distribution in Palestine .

The demonstration at Senator Charles Schumer's office was aimed at raising awareness of what's happening and protesting ongoing U.S. complicity in Israel's policies towards Palestine. The most grievous example of what is called "Israeli Apartheid" is the unilateral, illegal, and total blockade of Gaza maintained since its unilateral invasion and bombing campaign in the Gaza strip, the most densely populated area on earth. Israel has only allowed aid in it has deemed appropriate, which is insufficient.